Séance Games: Metaxu

When I watched this movie, it had a 5.1 rating on here. I agree with several other reviewers that the high ratings came from friends, family and crew, because it's awful. Not the worst I've ever seen, but an absolute chore to make it all the way through so I could fairly rate it and contribute to bringing it down to a more realistic score.

Firstly, I should have run when the description started off with, "Social media stars...," because that warns us of a cast of unlikable, spoiled twenty-somethings. I can think of only two positive things to say about this film. 1) It's not very long. 2) The music, while not great, does rise to occasion more often than not.

The bad? Well there's a lot of bad, but let me narrow it down. The worst offender is the really terrible acting. Even Eric Roberts-who seems to be doing anything for a buck lately, which is a shame-is offensively awful. The pacing is ridiculous, there are plot holes galore, and as in all shows about paranormal researchers, once they actually FIND something, they don't know what to do about it. Instead, the movie makes a sharp U-turn into arguing and drama. Badly acted drama. And what makes a person who has just broken free from the spawn of Hell to run to the front door the house in the middle of nowhere, yell for help, then basically shrug and go back inside? And then top it off with a stale thud at the end.

This is a dumb movie. Maybe with better acting it could've pulled out an actual 5, but how anyone can honestly rate this higher, well, I guess to each their own.

The very beginning drew me in - working through the final scene but without context. It caught me immediately, though there was some curious confusion. At first, I was bothered by the cheesiness and thought the acting was sub-par. However, as I watched it, I came to feel more like it was an intentional artistic direction (especially when you consider some of the actors). There are some bigger names along with new names, which makes this small cast a great mix. You can see the true acting skill towards the end, as all of the anger comes out. This movie watched like a stage play on film. And . . . You know what? I liked it!

Super cheesy and terrible acting....this reminds me of are you afraid of the dark....but in the worst way possible. Special effects are laughable. HOW did this get such high ratings? I am sure all these reviews are from cast members or their families. There is just no way anyone genuinely liked this. It's absolute trash and I really can't think of a single redeeming quality to this "movie" other than its only an hour and 20 minutes. But honestly it felt like it stretched on forever. I deeply regret paying money to see this joke of a movie. Zero scares. Not worth it even just to laugh at the terrible acting.

Participating in a viral challenge, a group of influencers arrive at a remote house in the middle of nowhere to undergo a special livestream challenge performing a specific seance, but when they release the spirit of a figure trapped inside must try to get out of the house alive.

This was a decent enough if somewhat flawed genre effort. Among the better features here is the impressive setup that plays quite nicely into modern influencer culture with how they get into the game and how it takes place. The arrival at the house and meeting up with the secondary group that's also attempting the same thing offers the kind of worthwhile starting point that's based quite nicely on how typical youth in this style start behaving. With a rather creepy, mold-covered house that has the traditional unused-for-years look and aesthetic that tends to play perfectly for the type of challenge being attempted here, it serves the film perfectly with the actual seance that takes place here as this sets the final half on a wild path once the group starts to succumb to the ghostly figures in the house. That's where the film works the best as the paranoia on display and wild revelations that come about during a series of brutal-by-comparison sequences give the film some positives. There are some big issues present that bring this one down overall. The biggest drawback with the film is the utterly uninteresting group of characters we're forced to follow as the typical means of modern youth and their actions are brought to full force here. The usual assortment of antics here involving the group being completely inconsiderate and only thinking of their followers despite what would be scenarios that demand more attention to their surroundings or sympathy for others is on display throughout here as the group spends the majority of the first half going through their follower numbers than anything more endearing which makes the group difficult to deal with. As well, once the film does finally get going and the bodies start dropping it's done without much in the way of thrilling sequences or intense confrontations so it's really hard to care at this point in the film where it's getting going. It's the main thing holding this one down among its other factors.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, and a clothed sex scene.

Came across this and as always checked out the reviews. I NEVER believe a "1" or "10" so thought I'd check out this newish movie and do my own review. The mystery-thriller components raises it above the basic horror genre.

The desert location and then the definitely spooky main interiors setting of the hotel set the stage for chills. The characters were engaging and then some became downright evil! That transition led to dramatic scenes. And the special paranormal effects definitely added to the overall spooky ambience.

Don't let the extreme ratings scare you off! This is a strong 8 - pop up some popcorn for yourself and a pal and prepare for some surprises!